Why Top 45?

These are the things that float to the top of my list of activities that I want to do for the year 2012 when I am 45 years old. The list is comprised of things that I have either never tried or have wanted to try and just didn't have the courage or time to do it. Follow along and watch my progress and feel free to comment or add words of encouragement to help keep me going for the next 365 days!

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Quarterly List Update

It has been a very busy 3 months and it doesn't look like it is going to let up anytime soon. Work has picked up considerably and I am juggling several clients at once. I decided that it would be a good idea to do a quarterly update of most of the ongoing activities on the list to help myself track whether or not I am reaching my goals better AND to refresh my memory of what I said I would do in the first place!

Make Bed (each weekday morning)
This item has really become a habit. I have worked it into my daily dressing routine in between drying my hair and using the Chi on it. It works perfectly because my bathroom heats up from the hair dryer so making my bed is the perfect interlude to cool off before I finish getting dressed. I actually can barely stand it when my bed is not made now. I did only make this a 'weekday' item but it has been spilling over into a weekend habit, too.

Empty kitchen sink (each weekday night)
This has become a habit, too, much like making my bed. I find that I can't stand to wake up in the morning to find dishes in the sink, in the way of cleaning out the coffee pot to make coffee. I much prefer being able to quickly make coffee because the first sip is crucial to getting my blood moving in the morning. Much to Nicole's dismay, this item is helping her to clean out her lunchbox in the afternoon because I prefer it to be done as soon as she comes home as opposed to the next morning when I need it to be clean for her lunch.

One handwritten note to Nicole (per month)
I have written 2 stories in their entirety for this particular item, however they both need polishing along with finishing the third story. I have been thinking about this book that I want to compile for her and will probably get some guest writers to submit other stories about Nicole because I am sure she would like to hear from them, too. I need to put this task in my calendar to remind myself to do it around the same time each month so I don't forget.

One handwritten note to Friend/Family
I have been good about this item, too, although I still have to write March's note. I will simply write two in April, one at the beginning and one at the end. March was so jam packed with SXSW and work that the month ended before I realized I had not written the one for this month. I already know I want to write to, I just have to do it. I am really enjoying the handwritten part of this because I feel like my handwriting has suffered due to how much time I spend on the computer. My handwriting still is not the best, but it should improve the more I do it.

Courage to Change Blog
Today is the 1 year anniversary of this blog, couragetochangeatx.blogspot.com . I have been writing the blog for 365 days and I am really proud of the fact that I kept with it. It has really helped me to learn that I don't have to do everything in a day and that I can break things down into smaller, manageable pieces. On occasion, I had to write several entries at once, but generally, it would not get past 3 total. Even during SXSW I was pretty good at posting regularly because I didn't want to fall too far behind. Technically, this item is complete...I may start another similar blog, but I think I have enough on my plate to let this one go for now.

Top 45 at 45 Blog
I am really happy with the way this item is going...if you are reading this now, you can see the progress for yourself!

135/8
If I didn't mention this before, the 135 represents the weight I would like to reach before the end of this year and the 8 is the clothes size I am aiming for by December 31, 2012. I can tell with the amount of exercise I have been getting, that my body is making changes. The scale hasn't changed all that much so I think the 8 will come before the 135. I don't obsess about this one all that much largely because I am not focusing on it because it will probably be a by-product of the next item on the list.

Physical exercise (5-6 times per week)
Finally, my goal of 5-6 days of physical activity is pretty close to being met in the first quarter. I know that I told myself that this requirement is only for 45 weeks of the 52 weeks in a year because I needed to account for work (which has affected at least 1 week thus far) and illness (another week of minimal exercise due to sinus infection.) One thing that is helping to motivate me to reach my exercise goal is the Nike Fuelband. Yes, it is a glorified pedometer, in my opinion, but for some reason it is working to make me reach my exercise goals.

The Fuelband tracks the time, Nike Fuel, Calories and Steps you take in each day. You upload the info each day onto the Nike site and it tracks when you reach certain milestones.

The above video is really cool showing you how many different activities 'count' for Nike Fuel. My biggest frustration with the Fuelband is that I can't wear it when I swim and it doesn't work great when you are on a bike. I am training to do two triathlons this year so essentially, it won't count two of the three major exercises I do in a week. It is however motivating me to not sit at my computer as long as I might and to walk or run a little bit each day to reach my Nike goal.